Lower Level Catalysts as Progression Barriers

One of the more frustrating parts of the game is hitting what feel like artificial barriers to game progression--for the longest time it was high level catalysts like T4C and now is T2A. But perhaps even more frustrating for a veteran player is when those barriers occur with what could be viewed as "lower level" catalysts--T1A or T2C. I realize there are daily quests for T2C (how many times have you run them needing 2 only to get the sole guaranteed catalyst?) and the every-nine-days alpha arena; however, with catalyst intensive champs like 5*'s it becomes silly to have all the pieces in place to take them to R4 with the sole exception of T1A. In fact, in some ways, it has become easier to amass T4B and even T4C than it has to keep enough T1A in inventory and stash. With 4* champs, it can likewise be maddening to burn through a whole day's worth of energy and still not get the T2C you need to get past 1/10.

Is this done in an intentional effort to slow progression, or is it just a part of the game economy that is trailing the player's game experience right now? Is there any way the game team would consider making more "lower level" catalysts (specifically T1A, and I don't mean T1A shards) available than the ones in the event quests and arena--say in the new daily crystal or in a separate recurring crystal, or in greater quantities in the event quests?

For your consideration...

Dr. Zola

Comments

Batman05

You should run the cat quests daily to stay stocked up, I always have 6 on hand and can rank up anyone to level three as soon as I get them. Once your stock just run them when you drop below 6 so it's not a big time investment. Aphas are in the loyalty store and you should also be getting a bunch thru alliance events

DrZola

All true--however, given that it takes 16 T1A to take a 5* from R1 to R4 (and 10 T1A for R1 to R3), that's quite a bit of loyalty (or glory) to burn on a lower level catalyst. I do get them from alliance events, as well as from the event quests and every now and then from a solo crystal. But my point is that the availability of 5* shards (and even 4* shards) at the veteran level has in some ways outstripped the availability of lower level catalysts.

Dr. Zola

Primmer79

in reference to t1a, I think that was an unintended consequence of removal of map 1-3 aq crystals from milestones. I think it was done to remove the heal pots and revives, (or for sake of the other argument, give us more t4c) but i used to receive quite a few alphas from the map 3 crystals. Now that, gold and iso are my limiting factors. I like the removal of iso from arena crystals, but that severely affected my iso stash as well

DrZola

Primmer79:

Yes--and that's part of my point. Take for example T3C--if you run for solo event milestones, you can practically be swimming in T3C and T3C shards. But there is no counterpart for T1A (or to some extent T2C, which is admittedly a lesser concern of mine since nearly every 4* I pull now is a dupe). I recall nearly 2 years ago when the T1A was a precious and limited resource because few people had 4/40's, and 5/50's were reserved for the truly elite. The game still treats T1A as that kind of resource even now when the 5/50 hasn't been the gold standard for a good while. That should change.

Dr. Zola

unknown

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Batman05

You wouldn't be out if you run them u till you have six in stock then you don't have to run them again until you upgrade someone then you only need a few to get back to 6
I've never ran out of aphas so I can't say why some people do all of my five stars are level two or three. Some pointed out in another thread resource management is important . Be proactive in getting resources not reactive

Batman05

DrZola

Virux wrote: »

Batman05 wrote: »

You should run the cat quests daily to stay stocked up, I always have 6 on hand and can rank up anyone to level three as soon as I get them. Once your stock just run them when you drop below 6 so it's not a big time investment. Aphas are in the loyalty store and you should also be getting a bunch thru alliance events

This doesn't always work. I run them twice daily and I'm out of mutant cats just upgrading one champ. The reason? The past three weeks I have gotten a total of two mutant t2 cats from those events. The only reason I had three to upgrade my champ was because of the Sunday t2 event. To tell someone to just stock up used to be my answer until recently. I run t3 basic and t2 class every day. I still run out. This has been only these past few months. It's like the drop rate has been reduced dramatically.

Another relevant point. It would be good to know that x number of passes on the T2C quests would get you two catalysts. As it stands now, if you don't get lucky on your first pass, you're likely to be on the receiving end of one of the Collector's "bargains" offering two T2C and 5K gold for 150 units.

All of this runs the risk of missing the basic point I was trying to make: availability of 4/5* champs via shards has outstripped the availability of some lower level resources needed to rank them up. If this is an intentional barrier to progression, then just say so. If it's just an example of the in-game economy not working, then there should be ways to remedy it.

DZ

Grinder

T2c are the bane of my existence...

DrZola

Batman05 wrote: »

You wouldn't be out if you run them u till you have six in stock then you don't have to run them again until you upgrade someone then you only need a few to get back to 6
I've never ran out of aphas so I can't say why some people do all of my five stars are level two or three. Some pointed out in another thread resource management is important . Be proactive in getting resources not reactive

Totally correct that resource management is critical. Like a lot of veterans, I don't bother with 3*'s or even 4*'s that are only arena fodder (unless I need an extra push for a solo milestone)--there's really no point unless you are trying to pad your rating. All of my 5*'s (save 2 lunkers) are R2/3 and I don't bother taking 4*'s to 5/50 any more unless they are top tier, are helpful to a particular aspect of game play or I have expiring cats. And yet I find myself with zero T1A at the moment, only a couple of months after having to sell a half dozen that were expiring. It's kind of a strange place, and I'm certain I'm not alone there.

DZ

Wafflesallday

One way they could remedy it a little is by making the t2cc dailys cost 1 energy per node.

winterthur

Drop rates real bad!

Just completed full run on the Science tier 3 catalyst. I did not check how many shards I started with but after completion, the count is at 1,721.

Real bad.